What is the connection between political science and project management? How could a degree in History and Politics be so useful in financial technology? And how did I end up in fintech?
Humanities and social sciences degrees have come under attack for their lack of utility, seemingly not useful in a world of big data and where artificial intelligence could soon penetrate every part of our daily lives. To the contrary, I feel my degree could not have been a better one to set me up for my work in a financial technology company.
I must admit fintech was not really on my radar for most of university, and I had not looked into finance too much as I thought it mainly consisted of financial trading. A mentor had suggested to me that an operations role in financial services may be well-suited to my skillset, but I was not sure exactly what I was looking for. I thought I would end up doing something like consulting, events management, or working in a startup where being a generalist would give me opportunity to learn more about what I wanted from my career.
My involvement in the Social Mobility Foundation’s Aspiring Professionals Programme totally changed my trajectory. One email in December 2022 suggesting a project management internship at a company called FINBOURNE Technology was what started my journey in fintech. It seemed an interesting role focused on my transferable skills, rather than how much knowledge I had in finance. The process also seemed to lean into my strengths; some application questions, a quick phone call, and then two interviews with members of the division I would be joining.
